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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30047241">The Battle of Ba Sing Se (and the aftermath of an explosion)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FromDustReturned/pseuds/FromDustReturned'>FromDustReturned</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ba Sing Se, Canon (until the end), Canon Compliant, Gen, Iroh loses more than a son, Lu Ten (Avatar) Lives, Lu Ten (Avatar)-centric, Lu Ten loves his family, Lu Ten makes a friend, War, even those who don't love him back</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:20:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,366</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30047241</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FromDustReturned/pseuds/FromDustReturned</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“We attack tomorrow.”</p><p>Lu Ten looked up from the board, momentarily speechless.</p><p>“Oh, don’t look so surprised.” The Dragon of the West smiled.</p><p>“Shall I tell the others?” Lu Ten placed his piece, and leaned back.</p><p>Iroh frowned at the board, and hesitated. “Your squad leaders will inform you all tonight. Are you ready?”</p><p>“Of course I’m ready.”</p><p>Iroh hummed, stopped mid hum as he finally noticed, and sighed. “You’ve beat me again, haven’t you? How long?”</p><p>“I had you beat from the start, Dad. You didn’t have a chance.”</p><p> </p><p>Iroh loses his son on the day of what would have been his greatest victory. When he travels to the spirit world, he is unable to find him.</p><p>In which a battle is fought, lives are saved, and one friend makes all the difference.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Iroh &amp; Lu Ten, Lu Ten &amp; Zuko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Battle of Ba Sing Se (and the aftermath of an explosion)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was inspired by a thought I had while writing for 'A Sum of Firsts', and could quite possibly turn into a much (much) longer fic including: a nine year old Toph, an Earth Kingdom odyssey, hunting Zuko hunting the Avatar, joining the Gaang at Kyoshi ('no guys other direction, if I could just talk to them...' 'talk?' 'AANG NO!'), and much foiling thereafter...</p><p>Ahem. Well.</p><p>In all seriousness though, fair warning: Please take care of yourselves. This is war. I didn't write anything graphic, although there is a bit of blood and burning that goes on.</p><p>Now, go read, have fun (laugh, cry), and enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>Six hundred days.</p><p>Six hundred and one, and they were ready to attack.</p><p>"This is it, Dad, you'll lead us to victory."</p><p>General Iroh smiled the smile of a predator finally finished toying with his prey.</p><p>Lu Ten matched it with a smile of his own, young and confident and born to war.</p><p>"Make me proud, soldier boy."</p><p>"I will."</p><hr/><p>
  <em>Lu Ten toddled after the woman in the red wedding dress, like a baby turtleduck after it's mother. Lady Ursa, soon to be princess, stopped every few minutes, turning to frown in confusion at her newest shadow.</em>
</p><p><em>"Your son has good taste, brother." Prince</em> <em>Ozai stood with casual grace beside Crown Prince Iroh, watching from the balcony.</em></p><p>
  <em>"That he does. You'd best be careful he doesn't steal her from you."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ursa finally stopped, and the child in her wake caught up, grabbing at the jeweled skirts. She knelt, and smiled.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm afraid it's too late for that." </em>
</p><p><em>Iroh's face was alight with happiness,</em> <em>Ozai's already darkened by jealousy.</em></p><hr/><p>Lu Ten stood in the ranks, another faceless soldier surrounded my mirrors and multiplied out farther than the eye could see. Ba Sing Se's outer wall stood before them, a towering silhouette against the lightening sky. There were rumors of war machines that could climb such a wall without effort, but those rumors had yet to manifest themselves into reality. It would be the Fire Lord's army that won the war today, it would be Agni's chosen that broke the wall and brought the city to it's knees, before building it up again more powerful and glorious than ever.</p><p>Only a select few could hear what the General was saying as he prepared to end the war. Lu Ten was not one of them.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>"Daddy, another game!" Lu Ten swept the pieces from the board, and without hesitation placed the white lotus tile in the center.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Iroh looked at the board, looked at his six year old son, and with mounting despair, placed a fire tile.</em>
</p><p><em>"That's what you did </em>last<em> time. At least try." </em></p><p>
  <em>"Perhaps if you would allow me to go first…"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You went first last time. It's my turn."</em>
</p><p><em>Exactly eleven minutes later, Iroh lost his fifteenth game of Pai Sho. Fifteenth game in a </em>row<em>. Fifteenth game that morning. Iroh was not a bad player, but somehow he had spent the last four months losing to his son, and he had little hope that would change any time soon.</em></p><hr/><p>The first horn blew as the sun peeked over the horizon. There was no other warning before the Fire Nation attacked.</p><p>It had been a brilliant tactic. For almost a year General Iroh had gathered his men in front of the wall, had them stand to attention, and read to them from whatever book or scroll was on hand. The first few months Ba Sing Se's army had panicked, but already suffering from a year of siege, they had only been able to watch with fraying nerves as the army amassed morning after morning, but never attacked.</p><p>Five months later, with the Fire Nation gathered once more at the foot of the great outer wall, the green clad soldiers only watched in mild concern, and wondered. It wasn't until that first horn, until those first drums, that they realized what was happening. By then, it was far too late.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>"Put your hand here. Yes, here." Ursa laughed. "I'm not made of porcelain, Lu Ten, you'll have to use more than just your finger if you want to feel your cousin kick."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lu Ten slowly flattened his hand against his aunt's swollen belly, staring in wide eyed wonder as he felt the baby move.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Doesn't it hurt?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Well, I won't say it's comfortable. He's a fighter."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"He?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Well." Ursa blushed, and glanced at her husband, who was standing a little ways down the beach, talking with his brother. "There's no way to know for sure, but the Fire Sages are very confident. I believe it would please your uncle, to have a son to dote on."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lu Ten didn't like his uncle much, and he knew his uncle didn't like him. It would be different though, he thought, with his own son. Uncle Ozai would love his son just as much as Lu Ten's dad loved him. He was sure of it.</em>
</p><p><em>Two weeks later they were back at the palace and Lu Ten was sitting on his aunt's bed, holding onto his baby cousin, as careful and gentle as he had ever been. The baby's</em> <em>name was Zuko. </em></p><p>
  <em>Iroh sat on the other side of the bed and Ursa lay between them, watching the door in exhaustion. Lu Ten had never much liked his uncle, but he loved his aunt, and he loved his cousin. And even though he had never had a mother, he thought he might know how to be a father, even if Ozai didn't. </em>
</p><hr/><p>They used ropes. They had trained in the forest for months, and even now as men climbed and fell, even more climbed and lived, until there were no enemy guards left to cut away the endless assault.</p><p>Lu Ten was one of those who climbed and lived, and he was one of the first to see the tents spread over an endless expanse of field, and an even greater wall in the distance. They had known there were two walls. They had not known just how much space lay between those walls, and what waited for them therein.</p><p>Battering rams crashed in the distance, and to his left a commander topped the wall with a small boy clinging to his back. The boy dropped to his feet and surveyed the Earth King's army with a blank face. The commander bent down and said something in his ear, and he nodded. He took the drum from his back, squared his shoulders, and beat out the next command.</p><p>Forward descent, attack.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>Zuko reached out, and pinched his sister's arm.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Zuko! What was that for? You have to be gentle."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lu Ten comforted a wailing Azula, and glared at his little cousin. The four year old crossed his arms.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Don't want to play with her. Want to play with you!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Well if you're going to hurt your little sister, no one is going to want to play with you."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Azula wriggled out of his arms, and punched her brother in the face. In doing so she lost her balance and fell over, but the damage was done. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Stop fighting!"</em>
</p><hr/><p>It wasn't until he was fighting for his life that Lu Ten realized he had never been in a battle. He had spent two years in siege, and one year before that fighting in small skirmishes, but he had never fought in a battle. He had never been surrounded on all sides by so many people, half of which weren't even in uniform, half of which he wasn't sure were friend or foe.</p><p>The ground tipped, and he only barely kept his balance. Something hit his shoulder hard and he turned just in time to block another, far deadlier blow from the bludgeon wielding soldier behind him.</p><p>From the bludgeon wielding boy.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>Iroh bowed, and Lu Ten bowed beside him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Rise, my son. Why have you requested this audience?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"My Lord, I wish to present you my son, Lu Ten."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Lu Ten? How old are you now, boy?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lu Ten sat back on his heels, his back straight and chin high.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Seventeen last month, my Lord."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"And what is it you want?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Only your blessing, my Lord. I wish the honor of fighting for our nation under General Iroh's command."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The curtain of fire rose and fell, like the slow breaths of a sleeping dragon.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Iroh? What are your thoughts on this?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"He believes he is ready."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The curtain twisted and flared.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"So be it."</em>
</p><hr/><p>"Run away!" Lu Ten shouted, and smashed the weapon from the boy's hands. Agni, he couldn't have been older than fourteen. Around them the battle continued on, but it seemed to be spreading as Fire Nation forces pushed their way farther and farther in.</p><p>The boy screamed, and ran at him, pulling a knife from his belt. He looked furious and terrified.</p><p>"Go home!" It was fruitless. He dodged and twisted, and disarmed his opponent again. He was about to knock him on the head when he heard a whistling from above. They both looked up.</p><p>From one direction a bolder hurtled through the air. From the other, a roaring ball of flame. So the engineers had made it to the top of the wall, and had set up the catapults. They weren't the only ones.</p><p>There was no time to think, only to root his stance and slam the fireball to the right. It took all his strength, to push away the fast approaching flames and the molten tar with them. Opposite him, the earth kingdom boy had also taken a stance, and a second later there was an explosion of shattering rock.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>"When will you be back?" The little girl crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Lu Ten had seen that exact expression on his uncle when he was displeased, and it looked oddly out of place on the five year old's face. "Zuzu's going to miss you."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I will not." Zuko stood next to her, and stared at his shoes.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"My first leave is in three years." Lu Ten knelt and held out his arms. "Come here. I promise I'll send lots of letters."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Both children hesitated, but eventually Zuko shuffled forward and pressed his face into Lu Ten's shoulder. Azula hesitated for another minute, but with a final glance at the door, she stepped forward and began to pat him awkwardly on the other shoulder. Having none of it, he reached out and pulled her into a flailing hug.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Let go! I'm not sad." Azula punched him in the gut, though not as hard as she could have.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Don't go. Please don't go." Zuko's plea was little more than a choked whisper.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'll be back." Lu Ten held them both tighter, and didn't cry.</em>
</p><hr/><p>When the dust settled, it was just the two of them. The fighting continued in the distance, but it was too far away to matter. Fires burned and the earth trembled, and all Lu Ten could smell was blood and burning flesh, and all be could hear were the cries and prayers of the dying.</p><p>"We need to help them."</p><p>He wasn't aware he had spoken until he saw the way the boy was looking at him, as though his world had just turned sideways. Lu Ten could sympathize. They regarded each other for another minute, but then a particularly loud cry made the boy flinch, and they both turned to look. It was a fire nation soldier, half his body still burning, the other half bleeding from a thousand puncture wounds.</p><p>By the time they made it to him, he was already dead.</p><p>They walked together, slowly spiraling outward, not saying a word. They knelt by body after body, saving those they could and putting to rest those they couldn't. Neither thought of the battle continuing at the edges of the crater. Neither thought of what they would do when they reached it.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>"We attack tomorrow."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lu Ten looked up from the board, momentarily speechless.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, don't look so surprised. Don't you think we've tormented those guards enough?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"How long has this been decided?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"About a month."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He nodded, his mind still reeling. Six hundred days. Six hundred days of waiting, and now… </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Shall I tell the others?" He placed his piece, and leaned back. He wondered how long it would take his dad to realize he had lost. Again. Did he never learn?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Iroh frowned at the board, and placed another piece. "Your squad leaders will inform you all tonight. Are you ready?"</em>
</p><p><em>Lu Ten looked up and met his general's eyes, and wondered if he was asking what he thought he was asking. </em>Are you giving me a way out?</p><p>
  <em>"Of course I'm ready." He placed another piece.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Iroh hummed, stopped mid hum as he finally noticed, and sighed. "You've beat me again, haven't you? How long?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I had you beat from the start, Dad. You didn't have a chance."</em>
</p><hr/><p>They reached the battle again just as the earth trembled one last time, and rose like a wave above them.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>Six hundred days. </em>
  <em>Six hundred and one, and they were ready to attack.</em>
</p><hr/><p>"The Dai Li." The boy whispered, and Lu Ten didn't know what he meant or who he was talking about, but he knew enough to be, for the first time, afraid.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>The gates splintered and crashed as the final battering ram broke through, and exploded inward in a blaze of fire. The Dragon of West stepped through, an entire army behind him.</em>
</p><hr/><p>"You'll lose. You won't survive."</p><p>"You don't understand. We have the Dragon of the West. My dad -"</p><p>He didn't have a chance to finish. Whatever agreement they'd had no longer mattered, and he should have seen it coming. He should have acted first. The wave crested above them, the boy twisted his foot and swept his hands down, and the earth swallowed Lu Ten as easily as if he had been standing on a lake of water.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>Whispers spread in the aftermath, even as the Fire Nation continued to pour through the open gates, and the earth churned like a living mass beneath them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Did you see? Did you hear?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The Prince. The General's son. Lu Ten.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He's dead.</em>
</p><hr/><p>The siege had lasted six hundred days. The battle of Ba Sing Se lasted all of five hours, and was over before noon. Both sides counted innumerable losses.</p><p>The next day the Fire Nation withdrew without explanation. Ba Sing Se built up it's wall and smoothed over it's fields, and within a month it was as though nothing had happened at all.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>In a cave full of crystals, a boy in fire nation armor opened his eyes. In a house safe behind the inner wall, a boy in earth kingdom green knelt with his hand to the floor, and smiled.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Complete! (for now ;P )</p></blockquote></div></div>
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